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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Weight Stigma

Researchers asked young women and men to read about women who had either lost 70 pounds of excess weight or had stayed the same weight (weight-stable), and who were either currently obese or currently thin.The participants were then asked about some of the women's attributes, including their attractiveness."We were surprised to find that currently thin women were viewed differently depending on their weight history," study leader Janet Latner, of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said in a news release from the University of Manchester, in England. "Those who had been obese in the past were perceived as less attractive than those who had always been thin, despite having identical height and weight."The participants also showed greater bias against obese people after they had read about women who had lost weight, compared to after reading about weight-stable women -- regardless of whether the weight-stable women were thin or obese.(Source)

It's as if obesity is a crime and you're judged for committing it even after you've served your time. It disturbing to see that people are judged differently depending on is they have been obese in the past or not. However, it's even worse to see that people who are obese are seen as "better" than those who managed to lose weight.